The Best Docker Manager I’ve Seen! // Arcane Tutorial

In this video, I’m taking a look at Arcane, a free and open-source Docker management UI that might be the best Docker manager I’ve tested so far. We’ll install Arcane with Docker Compose, look at the dashboard, manage projects, containers, images, builds, networks, volumes, and backups, and then explore more advanced features like Docker Swarm support, remote environments, agents, Git repositories, update checks, notifications, and vulnerability scanning.

Arcane feels like a clean daily operations cockpit for Docker: not as simple as Dockge, not as enterprise-heavy as Portainer, and not an app platform like Coolify or Dokploy. If you run Docker in your homelab or on your own servers, this is one tool you should definitely check out.

Generate Arcane with Boilerplates

Update the local template index and inspect the Arcane template:

boilerplates repo update
boilerplates compose show arcane

Generate the Arcane Compose stack interactively:

boilerplates compose generate arcane \
  --output ./arcane

Deploy the generated stack:

cd ./arcane
docker compose up -d

Default Login

Username: arcane
Password: arcane-admin

Change the default password after the first login.